1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a specific scene image selecting apparatus, a computer program for causing a computer to function as the apparatus, and a computer readable medium on which the computer program is recorded, and more particularly to a specific scene image selecting apparatus for selecting an image of a specific scene out of images of various scenes represented by digital image data in order to classify the images by the scenes, a computer program for causing a computer to function as the apparatus, and a computer readable medium on which the computer program is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been investigated a procedure for selecting an image of a specific scene out of images of various scenes represented by digital image data in order to classify the images by the scenes or print or correct the images by the scenes.
For example, in U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20020097441, there has been disclosed a procedure for distinguishing which an image taken by a digital camera is to be classified, a portrait, an evening scene, or a night scene by the use of information on whether there appears a person and information on histograms of colors as common indexes.
Further, there have been proposed various procedures for a specific scene. For example, as a procedure for distinguishing whether the scene is a scene of the evening glow, there has been proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11(1999)-298736, where histograms of the products of chroma and hue and the products of hue and brightness of pixels which are determined to be red to yellow on the basis of the pixel data thereof are made and when the dispersion of the histograms of an object image is larger than a predetermined reference value, the object image is determined to be of a scene of the evening glow.
However, the users can designate various scenes as the specific scene and the object images can be various. Accordingly, there has been a problem that an attempt to distinguish a plurality of specific scenes by the use of a common index at a high accuracy is difficult to realize. Though it may be possible to improve the accuracy of distinguishment by increasing the number of the indexes, this approach significantly increases the amount of operation and adds to the time and cost required to distinguish a specific scene. Further when the number of the indexes is increased, the index which is not so useful to distinguish a desired specific scene is also calculated each time an image is supplied, whereby wasteful operations must be run.
Further, it is conceivable that distinguishing algorisms are set specifically to individual specific scenes which can be designated by the users and various scenes are distinguished by the use of apparatuses loaded with the algorisms or a program of a combination of the distinguishing algorisms. With this arrangement, the respective scenes can be distinguished at a high accuracy with waste operations avoided. However, such an approach is disadvantageous in that many works are necessary to set and load the distinguishing algorisms, which significantly adds to the time and the cost required to develop the apparatus and/or the programs. Further, change of the reference on the basis of which the scenes are distinguished requires a lots of time and cost as well as addition of the specific scene.